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sr_toliver's reviews
523 reviews
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
4.0
These three quotes sum up the entire book for me.
"We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it."
"How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all. What an available temptation."
"Humanity is so adaptable, my mother would say. Truly amazing, what people can get used to, as long as there are a few compensations."
Offred, the narrator of the story, is a handmaid in the dystopian Republic of Gilead, a place where women's rights are almost completely eliminated. Women can no longer own property; women are not allowed to read; women have no control over their reproductive rights. I would say that women have control over what they think, but even that is taken away from many of the women in the story.
The coup that began this anti-woman regime began with the eradication of the governmental system - the president is killed and so are many of the members of Congress, causing a turmoil so great that the people began to accept anything to get some semblance of peace. As part of the new order, women were placed into one of five categories: Wives (women who have only been married once in a church); Marthas (women who take care of the housework who are unfit ); Jezebels (a group of women used specifically for sex); Handmaids (women whose only job is to breed children for the Wives); and Unwomen (those who are sent to do hard labor because of their age or their refusal to convert completely).
Offred (named because she belongs to Fred; thus, Of.. Fred) is a Handmaid, forced into a 'rehabilitation' center after a failed attempt to escape the oppressive society with her husband and daughter. The story begins during her third assignment, where she is expected to have sex with the Commander in order to create a baby that the Commander and his wife, Selena Joy will raise. Offred will be transferred to a new house and be forced to repeat the process. But, when Offred is finally given a chance to rebel, even in a small way, will she take it, or will she continue to live by willfully ignoring what is happening to the people in the society?
What I like about the story is the way the author built the world of Gilead, specifically in reference to colors.
-Handmaids wear red which is a color that can symbolize power and aggression, but it can also be connected to the adulterous Hester Prynne who wore the scarlet letter in Hawthorne's novel. Offred has all of these characteristics, for she discusses the small amounts of power she has and often has dark thoughts about death and killing although she doesn't act upon it. She is also like Hester in that all the handmaids are despised for their jobs. They are the (forced) adulterers because they have sex with the husbands of other women, and they are treated similarly to how Hawthornes' society treated Hester.
-Marthas wear green which is a color that can represent the environment, growth, service, and envy. Cora and Rita, the two Marthas in the story represent these traits. For instance, they are in charge of maintaining the household environment and helping to raise the children birthed by the handmaids. They are in a service position, and there are twinges of jealousy from the Marthas in their conversations with Offred.
-Wives wear blue which could represent peace and coolness, but it can also represent sadness. Selena Joy is supposed to be the rock of the household in a way. Before the coup, she was a supporter of "traditional" womanhood as a way to bring peace to society. She is cool toward the handmaids, but she is also sad because she hates them for their duties. She needs them if she wants to ever have children, but she detests the fact that her marriage has been affected.
I disliked the scatter-brained nature of Offreds comments. There were several times when I had to stop myself and go back to figure out if we were still in the present, or if this was another flashback. I also hated the lack of punctuation which made certain parts of the novel difficult to read initially. Of course, I got used to it, but it took me a lot longer to finish the book because of these interesting stylistic choices.
"We lived, as usual, by ignoring. Ignoring isn’t the same as ignorance, you have to work at it."
"How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all. What an available temptation."
"Humanity is so adaptable, my mother would say. Truly amazing, what people can get used to, as long as there are a few compensations."
Offred, the narrator of the story, is a handmaid in the dystopian Republic of Gilead, a place where women's rights are almost completely eliminated. Women can no longer own property; women are not allowed to read; women have no control over their reproductive rights. I would say that women have control over what they think, but even that is taken away from many of the women in the story.
The coup that began this anti-woman regime began with the eradication of the governmental system - the president is killed and so are many of the members of Congress, causing a turmoil so great that the people began to accept anything to get some semblance of peace. As part of the new order, women were placed into one of five categories: Wives (women who have only been married once in a church); Marthas (women who take care of the housework who are unfit ); Jezebels (a group of women used specifically for sex); Handmaids (women whose only job is to breed children for the Wives); and Unwomen (those who are sent to do hard labor because of their age or their refusal to convert completely).
Offred (named because she belongs to Fred; thus, Of.. Fred) is a Handmaid, forced into a 'rehabilitation' center after a failed attempt to escape the oppressive society with her husband and daughter. The story begins during her third assignment, where she is expected to have sex with the Commander in order to create a baby that the Commander and his wife, Selena Joy will raise. Offred will be transferred to a new house and be forced to repeat the process. But, when Offred is finally given a chance to rebel, even in a small way, will she take it, or will she continue to live by willfully ignoring what is happening to the people in the society?
What I like about the story is the way the author built the world of Gilead, specifically in reference to colors.
-Handmaids wear red which is a color that can symbolize power and aggression, but it can also be connected to the adulterous Hester Prynne who wore the scarlet letter in Hawthorne's novel. Offred has all of these characteristics, for she discusses the small amounts of power she has and often has dark thoughts about death and killing although she doesn't act upon it. She is also like Hester in that all the handmaids are despised for their jobs. They are the (forced) adulterers because they have sex with the husbands of other women, and they are treated similarly to how Hawthornes' society treated Hester.
-Marthas wear green which is a color that can represent the environment, growth, service, and envy. Cora and Rita, the two Marthas in the story represent these traits. For instance, they are in charge of maintaining the household environment and helping to raise the children birthed by the handmaids. They are in a service position, and there are twinges of jealousy from the Marthas in their conversations with Offred.
-Wives wear blue which could represent peace and coolness, but it can also represent sadness. Selena Joy is supposed to be the rock of the household in a way. Before the coup, she was a supporter of "traditional" womanhood as a way to bring peace to society. She is cool toward the handmaids, but she is also sad because she hates them for their duties. She needs them if she wants to ever have children, but she detests the fact that her marriage has been affected.
I disliked the scatter-brained nature of Offreds comments. There were several times when I had to stop myself and go back to figure out if we were still in the present, or if this was another flashback. I also hated the lack of punctuation which made certain parts of the novel difficult to read initially. Of course, I got used to it, but it took me a lot longer to finish the book because of these interesting stylistic choices.
Panther in the Hive by Olivia A. Cole
5.0
Tasha is a 21-year old Black woman living in Chicago. She works at the mall, loves Prada, and kills zombie-like creatures bent on ending her existence. In this story set in in a futuristic, but not so distant, society, California has seceded from the US, walking sidewalks replace the concrete ones, and people pretty much live in mega malls. A for-profit healthcare system creates a two-tiered hierarchy of citizens - those who can afford it and those who cannot. But, a glitch (I'm still not sure about whether or not this error was intentional) may prove that those who were unable to qualify for the healthcare fared better in the end.
What I liked most about Cole's novel is that the character spoke to me. I've always wondered if I would still worry about certain things if I lived in a dystopian world - Would I care if my armpits stunk? Would I wonder what my appearance was like? Would I risk death to get a hold of some deodorant and toothpaste? I'm not saying that every person would or should think about those things if the world was ending as we knew it, but I also think it's important to show that thinking about them is a possibility. Too often, I think that in trying to show that girls don't have to be princesses, writers create characters that are extremely anti-stereotypically feminine. Why can't a girl like lipstick and kick butt? Why can't she miss her flat iron as she sweats from running away from killers? Seeing female characters living unapologetically, whatever that may be for them in the context of the novel, is refreshing. I feel like if there were ever a zombie apocalypsse, I would be like Tasha, with my Wusthof in hand.
Diversity Elements:
The main character is an African-American woman;
Secondary characters are mostly people of color - women and men;
Nuanced identities for diverse characters
This book is full of women of color literally fighting a system that has marginalized them. Even when a character is present only for a short time, their story is still told. They have names, they have stories, they have dynamic identities.
What I liked most about Cole's novel is that the character spoke to me. I've always wondered if I would still worry about certain things if I lived in a dystopian world - Would I care if my armpits stunk? Would I wonder what my appearance was like? Would I risk death to get a hold of some deodorant and toothpaste? I'm not saying that every person would or should think about those things if the world was ending as we knew it, but I also think it's important to show that thinking about them is a possibility. Too often, I think that in trying to show that girls don't have to be princesses, writers create characters that are extremely anti-stereotypically feminine. Why can't a girl like lipstick and kick butt? Why can't she miss her flat iron as she sweats from running away from killers? Seeing female characters living unapologetically, whatever that may be for them in the context of the novel, is refreshing. I feel like if there were ever a zombie apocalypsse, I would be like Tasha, with my Wusthof in hand.
Diversity Elements:
The main character is an African-American woman;
Secondary characters are mostly people of color - women and men;
Nuanced identities for diverse characters
This book is full of women of color literally fighting a system that has marginalized them. Even when a character is present only for a short time, their story is still told. They have names, they have stories, they have dynamic identities.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
4.0
Centuries into the future, society has erased the ills that come with difference, envy, and want. The government now provides everything they need - clothes, food, technology, housing, etc. In fact, every 16-year-old is granted the opportunity to undergo a drastic plastic surgery that erases every aspect of individuality the person possesses in order to align each person to the mean-scale of beauty (big eyes, lighter skin, full lips, high cheekbones, beautiful physique). Before the journey to pretty, however, they pass through the stages of 'littlies' where they live with their parents (birth to 12), and then they become 'uglies' who live in a dormitory in Uglyville (12-16).
At the beginning of the story, Tally Youngblood is only a few months away from her 16th birthday, so she is still an Ugly, but she longs for her birthday to arrive because she misses the only friend she's had since she became an ugly - her best friend, Peris. Always playing tricks and sneaking around when she shouldn't, Tally decides to visit Peris in New Pretty Town, but when she arrives, she realizes that Peris is not the same. But although she lost this friend, she meets a new friend, Shay, on on her way back to Uglyville. After their meeting, the two are inseparable until Shay tells Tally that she doesn't want to be pretty; instead, she's leaving the city to join a rogue group (the Smokies), avoiding the permanent beauty alteration altogether. She wants Tally to come with her. Of course, Tally refuses to go because her only dream has been to become a Pretty, leaving Uglyville behind and joining Peris. Her dreams are dashed, though, because on the day she is supposed to have her surgery, she is blackmailed into finding Shay and the Smokies. She must betray them and turn them into the authorities because if she doesn't, she will remain Ugly forever.
Once in the Smokies camp, however, she meets David, a boy who's grown up outside of the city limits. He shows her that beauty doesn't necessarily come from the outside, and although he doesn't know it, he changes her mind about the betrayal. But, even though she decided against it, the authorities still come and capture the Smokies, causing Tally to think of a plan that not only saves her friends, but also absolves her guilt.
What I liked about the novel was that there were a lot of connections I could make to the modern society, especially the focus on outward appearance and its impact on life. For example, in 2016 there was a scientific study done to find the most beautiful face, where the scientist used the Greek-based number Phi, which represents aesthetically pleasing proportions. I also liked the symbolism interwoven throughout the story, specifically the wild orchids and the boulders.
Diversity Elements:
Most of the characters' races aren't described at all. In fact, the only character whose given a definite color is Shay who has olive skin. But, even though it's not directly mentioned, there are elements that help to show that many of the characters, including the main character, are white. This is not necessarily a problem, but the scientific aspect of beauty being adhered to a certain level of paleness and hair's ability to avoid frizz is saddening. It's understandable that race is not a big issue in this future and that it is something that may not be discussed, but many of the desirable features that are obtained during the pretty surgery are akin to features traditionally present in white people. I just wish that there were more shades of beauty to be seen. As Sarah Hentges says, "When we layer non-white racial and ethnic identities with those that dominate popular consciousness, we democratize/complicate/deepen/transform YA dystopia in ways that might mirror the larger cultures - real and fictional - that YA dystopia is a part of" (238).
At the beginning of the story, Tally Youngblood is only a few months away from her 16th birthday, so she is still an Ugly, but she longs for her birthday to arrive because she misses the only friend she's had since she became an ugly - her best friend, Peris. Always playing tricks and sneaking around when she shouldn't, Tally decides to visit Peris in New Pretty Town, but when she arrives, she realizes that Peris is not the same. But although she lost this friend, she meets a new friend, Shay, on on her way back to Uglyville. After their meeting, the two are inseparable until Shay tells Tally that she doesn't want to be pretty; instead, she's leaving the city to join a rogue group (the Smokies), avoiding the permanent beauty alteration altogether. She wants Tally to come with her. Of course, Tally refuses to go because her only dream has been to become a Pretty, leaving Uglyville behind and joining Peris. Her dreams are dashed, though, because on the day she is supposed to have her surgery, she is blackmailed into finding Shay and the Smokies. She must betray them and turn them into the authorities because if she doesn't, she will remain Ugly forever.
Once in the Smokies camp, however, she meets David, a boy who's grown up outside of the city limits. He shows her that beauty doesn't necessarily come from the outside, and although he doesn't know it, he changes her mind about the betrayal. But, even though she decided against it, the authorities still come and capture the Smokies, causing Tally to think of a plan that not only saves her friends, but also absolves her guilt.
What I liked about the novel was that there were a lot of connections I could make to the modern society, especially the focus on outward appearance and its impact on life. For example, in 2016 there was a scientific study done to find the most beautiful face, where the scientist used the Greek-based number Phi, which represents aesthetically pleasing proportions. I also liked the symbolism interwoven throughout the story, specifically the wild orchids and the boulders.
Diversity Elements:
Most of the characters' races aren't described at all. In fact, the only character whose given a definite color is Shay who has olive skin. But, even though it's not directly mentioned, there are elements that help to show that many of the characters, including the main character, are white. This is not necessarily a problem, but the scientific aspect of beauty being adhered to a certain level of paleness and hair's ability to avoid frizz is saddening. It's understandable that race is not a big issue in this future and that it is something that may not be discussed, but many of the desirable features that are obtained during the pretty surgery are akin to features traditionally present in white people. I just wish that there were more shades of beauty to be seen. As Sarah Hentges says, "When we layer non-white racial and ethnic identities with those that dominate popular consciousness, we democratize/complicate/deepen/transform YA dystopia in ways that might mirror the larger cultures - real and fictional - that YA dystopia is a part of" (238).
Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
3.0
At the end of Book 1, Tally gives herself up to the government in hopes that she'll be able to test the cure created by Maddy. The only issue is the surgery erases Tally's memories, allowing her to embrace New Pretty Town with all of its extravagant buildings, lavish parties, and dimwitted residents. Her fame as a criminal has given her the ability to join one of the most respected cliques in the city, The Crims, who are known for the consistent tricks they play on everyone despite their removal from ugly society. Tally is eager to join so that she has a place where she can truly belong, especially since the group includes her twow best friends, Peris and Shay, as well as new friends, like Zane and Fausto. But, she is constantly forced to remind herself to "stay bubbly" and blend in with her new friends when everyone else seems to fit in with ease.
One night, a boy from her past brings her a gift - the cure that she promised she would take to cure the pretty-mindedness that keeps all new pretties in a fuzzy haze of obedience. Wary of the possibilities, especially because she doesn't remember to agreeing to being a lab rat, she enlists the help of the Crim's leader, Zane. Together, they discover a way to erase the stupidity that comes with being a Pretty and work to ensure that all of their friends are able to escape the hold society has on them. But clear-mindedness brings back painful memories that various characters must deal with. Specifically, Shay remembers Tally's betrayal of The Smoke, and it causes tension between the two friends, resulting in Shay creating her own clique, The Cutters.
Desperate to break free from the government's hold, all the Crims (excluding those who joined Shay) create a plan to break out of the city and join the resistance efforts of those in The New Smoke. Everyone that makes the decision to leave breaks free, but Tally is separated from the group and must fight to navigate the forest and find the rendezvous point. During her journey, though, she finds a "savage" group of people who have been strategically placed in a contained area of the forest to be studied by doctors from New Pretty Town. They have been held for generations, not knowing that they are a cruel experiment, but Tally soon learns the reasoning behind the government's tests. Tally eventually escapes, but she knows that she can't allow for the people to continue their suffering, and she makes a promise to come back and free the people from the artificial prison created by the government.
Upon escaping, she eventually finds The New Smoke, ready to join the ranks and mend relationships that were broken the last time she was in their midsts, but Dr. Cable ruins her plans once again by activating a hidden tracking device implanted in the unlikeliest of places. Luckily, everyone from the The New Smoke, except a couple of Crim friends and Tally, escapes the evil clutches of Dr, Cable and her henchmen, but Tally's future is looking painfully special.
What I like most about this book is the inner workings of Tally's brain. Although there is an external battle against the government that is constantly being waged, Tally is also constantly battling with the "pretty-mindedness" that continuously clouds her mind. I thought it was interesting to see the shift between both mindsets. It made the inner conflict much more explicit.
What I didn't like about the book was the connection of the contained area to a reservation. I'm still trying to gather my thoughts about it, but Tally mentions that the area "wasn’t just a few stray people living in the wilderness; it was someone’s pet anthropology project, a preserve of some kind. Or . . . what had the Rusties called them? This was a reservation" (298). I don't think that Westerfeld was talking about actual reservations, but I think his word choice could have been better, especially since Tally calls the people savages at one point. I think that could be triggering.
Diversity Elements:
Just like book 1, race is an afterthought, and I see no other elements of diversity either. Enhanced immune systems eliminate disease; broken bones (or even brains) can be fixed by specialized doctors; religion is a staple of the "rusty" period, so it's not even addressed; and everyone is heterosexual as well. Just like I said in the Uglies' post, I don't think it's inherently bad, but I feel like there could have beeb much more discussed in the book. Even when it came to the people held in containment, Tally mentions how some of them hobble in the woods due to deformities or age, but she's the one who falls (and they look at her bewildered). The discussion could have gone further there to identify the ability those men had against the odds of their situations.
There was a lot of conversation on gender roles, but I also felt like this was stinted because gender roles were only described as a rusty-era topic. Tally didn't like how the women cooked and stayed at home while the men went out hunting and killing. She was disturbed that the men ate first and the women and children ate the leftovers. This is definitely a concerning issue, but I think more comparison to the difference in current society would have been good to include to expound upon her reasoning.
One night, a boy from her past brings her a gift - the cure that she promised she would take to cure the pretty-mindedness that keeps all new pretties in a fuzzy haze of obedience. Wary of the possibilities, especially because she doesn't remember to agreeing to being a lab rat, she enlists the help of the Crim's leader, Zane. Together, they discover a way to erase the stupidity that comes with being a Pretty and work to ensure that all of their friends are able to escape the hold society has on them. But clear-mindedness brings back painful memories that various characters must deal with. Specifically, Shay remembers Tally's betrayal of The Smoke, and it causes tension between the two friends, resulting in Shay creating her own clique, The Cutters.
Desperate to break free from the government's hold, all the Crims (excluding those who joined Shay) create a plan to break out of the city and join the resistance efforts of those in The New Smoke. Everyone that makes the decision to leave breaks free, but Tally is separated from the group and must fight to navigate the forest and find the rendezvous point. During her journey, though, she finds a "savage" group of people who have been strategically placed in a contained area of the forest to be studied by doctors from New Pretty Town. They have been held for generations, not knowing that they are a cruel experiment, but Tally soon learns the reasoning behind the government's tests. Tally eventually escapes, but she knows that she can't allow for the people to continue their suffering, and she makes a promise to come back and free the people from the artificial prison created by the government.
Upon escaping, she eventually finds The New Smoke, ready to join the ranks and mend relationships that were broken the last time she was in their midsts, but Dr. Cable ruins her plans once again by activating a hidden tracking device implanted in the unlikeliest of places. Luckily, everyone from the The New Smoke, except a couple of Crim friends and Tally, escapes the evil clutches of Dr, Cable and her henchmen, but Tally's future is looking painfully special.
What I like most about this book is the inner workings of Tally's brain. Although there is an external battle against the government that is constantly being waged, Tally is also constantly battling with the "pretty-mindedness" that continuously clouds her mind. I thought it was interesting to see the shift between both mindsets. It made the inner conflict much more explicit.
What I didn't like about the book was the connection of the contained area to a reservation. I'm still trying to gather my thoughts about it, but Tally mentions that the area "wasn’t just a few stray people living in the wilderness; it was someone’s pet anthropology project, a preserve of some kind. Or . . . what had the Rusties called them? This was a reservation" (298). I don't think that Westerfeld was talking about actual reservations, but I think his word choice could have been better, especially since Tally calls the people savages at one point. I think that could be triggering.
Diversity Elements:
Just like book 1, race is an afterthought, and I see no other elements of diversity either. Enhanced immune systems eliminate disease; broken bones (or even brains) can be fixed by specialized doctors; religion is a staple of the "rusty" period, so it's not even addressed; and everyone is heterosexual as well. Just like I said in the Uglies' post, I don't think it's inherently bad, but I feel like there could have beeb much more discussed in the book. Even when it came to the people held in containment, Tally mentions how some of them hobble in the woods due to deformities or age, but she's the one who falls (and they look at her bewildered). The discussion could have gone further there to identify the ability those men had against the odds of their situations.
There was a lot of conversation on gender roles, but I also felt like this was stinted because gender roles were only described as a rusty-era topic. Tally didn't like how the women cooked and stayed at home while the men went out hunting and killing. She was disturbed that the men ate first and the women and children ate the leftovers. This is definitely a concerning issue, but I think more comparison to the difference in current society would have been good to include to expound upon her reasoning.